


The Soothsayer

by CraftKookies



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: F/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-09-19 19:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17008185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CraftKookies/pseuds/CraftKookies
Summary: Ivar and Hvitserk find a surprise in the tunnels.





	The Soothsayer

It had intentionally pissed Hvitserk off that Ivar wouldn’t reveal his plans to him, but now that they had won the battle he understood.

He would have blabbed.

He was loyal but he knew he wasn’t too smart and he couldn’t very well keep secrets either. It is always best to keep battle plans private from the army until it is time to actually put the plan into action. Just in case someone is a traitor.

‘I apologize for keeping it from you brother, it was necessary.’ Ivar said as he ate.

‘I understand, but next time try not to wait til the last second, it was hel rushing everyone down there.’

‘I found it easy.’ Ivar shrugged.

‘You had a man gently lower you in while another caught you and sat you down. The rest of us nearly fell face first jumping down there.’ Hvitserk reminded.

Ivar grinned at his brother in teasing.

Before Hvitserk could say anything else one of Ivar’s bodyguards came into the hall, breathing hard.

‘What is it?’ Ivar asked.

‘The tunnels…we found something, you need to see it.’ the man panted.

‘I will see to it after my meal.’ Ivar dismissed.

‘It can’t wait, its so urgent that I had to run here on foot because no horses were ready. I told a slave to prepare your chariot on my way in and given him directions for where to take you.’

‘What is so urgent?’ Hvitserk asked.

‘I cannot explain it, please just hurry to the chariot. As fast you can.’ he urged.

Ivar rolled his eyes as he motioned for Hvitserk to grab him, and with just as much annoyance his older brother put him on his back and grabbed his crutches.

‘You weigh a ton now.’ Hvitserk complained. 

‘I weigh the same, the braces are just too heavy for your weak arms.’ Ivar smirked.

‘Maybe you’re right and my arms just give out and I drop your arse.’ 

At last they reached the chariot and Hvitserk sat Ivar in his seat before he climbed on as well.

Just as his bodyguard had said a slave was already seated on a horse beside Ivar’s.

‘Lead the way.’ Hvitserk ordered.

The slave needed no further instructions, kicking his horse and beginning to lead the two Ragnarsons to the edge of the town.

At last they came to a stop and were met by another one of Ivar’s bodyguards.

‘What was so important it couldn’t wait for us to finish eating?’ Ivar questioned.

‘Down here, we didn’t want to make the decision without you present.’ he said as he helped his leader out of his chariot while Hvitserk got down and handed his brother his crutches.

‘We were seeing just how far the tunnels lead as you ordered. That’s when we found it.’ he explained before they all climbed down into the tunnel.

He lead them through the tunnel speaking almost too fast to understand.

‘Everything was fine, it seemed to go through the whole town connecting to a few creeks. That’s how it was with the North, East and West directions so that’s what we expected heading South. But there was no creek at the end instead we found this.’ he said as he approached a locked door that was very out of place in tunnels.

‘I…var.’ 

They all stopped.

‘That is my name.’ Ivar said in shock.

‘We know, we wanted to wait for you before we opened the door.’ the guard said.

‘You idiot open the damn door.’ Ivar ordered.

A second later the door was easily kicked in and a horrid stench hit all three men almost violently.

Ivar had to cover his nose, Hvitserk began to cough and gag, the guard had actually began to throw up.

‘I…var.’

Through his disgust Ivar looked up and what he saw stunned him.

A naked woman was tied to cross, her head hung low and her body completely filthy. Ivar noticed her hair while shaggy and matted it was also wet. Her bare chest would occasionally rise and fall with her shallow breathing.

Ivar slowly walked up to the woman and hit her leg with his crutch.

Slowly her head raised and her dazed eyes landed.

‘You, it’s you, the prophecy has come to pass, the Christ God has given up on this village and people… Ivar the Boneless…‘ she said with her hoarse voice before she coughed harshly before her eyes closed and her body went slack as she collapsed. 

Ivar hit her leg again, but this time she did not move.

‘Get her down.’ Hvitserk said, pushing Ivar’s guard into the room.

With a look of disgust permanent on his face he cut the ropes that bound the woman’s wrist to the cross.

Immediately her body fell, the guard barely caught her.

Take her to the slaves, tell them to clean and feed her. Tell them I want her healthy as soon as possible.’ Ivar ordered as the guard hurried to get the woman out of the tunnels.

It seems that as soon as possible meant two months.

Ivar had a team of five slaves and three healers working with the unknown woman. She was cleaned by the slaves, and the healers mixed up medicines to fight the fever she’d had. The slaves informed him that when they tried to feed her light broths even that came back up for the first two days.

She was in the worst condition he had ever seen, and coming from a cripple it was saying something.

At last one day while he was going over a few maps he had found in the church Hvitserk burst into his chamber.

‘She’s up and talking, one of the slaves just let me know.’ he said quickly.

While he couldn’t run like he wished he certainly got to her chambers pretty fast for a cripple.

Opening the door Ivar was happy to see the woman was indeed awake, sitting up in her bed, looking much better than she had in the tunnels…not like she could look worse than that.

‘Nice to see you feeling well.’ he said as he came in.

‘Nice to be feeling well, thank you for having me treated.’ she said gratefully.

‘You are welcome, but I was not being entirely selfless.’

She smiled and looked down at her lap.

‘I know, you want to know how I got in that room, how I knew your name.’ she said.

‘And how you speak our language.’ Hvitserk added.

She licked her lips before she looked up.

‘My name is (Y/N), I was a nun of this church. Since I was a child I was always seeing things in my dreams and because of it a lot of the others were afraid of me. I was treated rather badly but never anything too horrible…until one day in the middle of Mass I passed out and began to convulse. When I woke up I was told I had spoken blasphemous words. I had told them that ungodly men were coming to the town, and the church would be taken.’ she started.

‘They did not believe me, and called me vile. Despite how I fought they arrested me, but they declared me too evil for a cell and they didn’t want to kill for fear of me cursing them.’ (Y/N) continued.

‘Could you curse them?’ Hvitserk asked.

‘Of course not, and what would be the point anyway, they all died already didn’t they? You and your army hit the church first and killed everyone inside.’

‘The real question is what did you tell them exactly?’ Ivar questioned, he needed to know if keeping you alive was beneficial.

Having a seer under his wing would be an advantage, but if she is capable of knowing his full battle strategy that meant she could betray him and warn others.

‘When the dragon slayer is slain, when the crippled walks, when the crows shriek before the dawn and the clouds cover the sun to roar as they weep, then will the York church fall.’ she answered.

Ivar went over her words and was happy there was nothing too revealing about them. Not where they entered the town, how they had gotten information from those two boys.

‘The merciful Gods left us a Christian Seer it seems.’ Hvitserk said.

‘Be it your Gods or my Lord it seems I was fated to be found by you, I am grateful for you. I wouldn’t have made it much longer if you hadn’t found me when you did, I am in your debt. All I have to offer you is my loyalty.’

‘I will take it, but if you really are a Seer tell me…what is in my future?’ Ivar asked.

She sighed sadly and looked to her hands.

‘I can’t turn it on and off, I’ve never been able to control it. If I could I would have seen what was going to happen to me and I never would have said anythi-AH!’ she suddenly gasped as she seemed to be pushed back onto the mattress by an invisible force.

‘Healers! Get the damn healers in here now!’ Hvitserk ordered the slaves.

(Y/N) was shaking as if she was struggling to sit up while someone was pressing down on her chest. Her legs kicking all over as she struggled, it was amazing that she hadn’t kicked her way out of the bed.

Then she took in a great long deep breath that had her back arching almost completely off the bed, then she let it the breath go and she completely relaxed.

Her eyes snapped open and Ivar saw that only the whites of her eyes were visible. 

‘Weep banshees, for the end of many is near. King without bones, you shall raise into nightmare. Fire shall rain from the sky’s, your enemies shall shriek as they burn. Ashes ashes ashes… And you shall yell with red tears as your people stand in awe, and the sacrifice shall burn as bright as the sun. This shall be… this shall be…’ she said in a strained voice.

‘What? It shall be what?!’ Ivar asked.

‘The beginning of the end.’ she finished before going unconscious.


End file.
